Energy concern Nuon on Monday announced net profit more than doubled in the second quarter to €442m compared to €168m euros in the same period last year.

Turnover in the second quarter rose to €1.6bn from €1.1bn in the same period last year. The increase was largely due to higher natural gas sales. But these positive developments were partially offset by lower consumer gas and electricity prices than last year, the company said.
Net profit in the first half was 687 million euros, compared to 486 million in the first six months of 2007. Turnover for the first six months was 3.5 billion euros, up from 2.8 billion in 2007.
In a statement, Øystein Løseth, Nuon chairman said: “Nuon achieved good results in the second quarter of 2008 under challenging market circumstances. A continuous focus on cost control remains, however, a prerequisite.